Description
At thirty-five, Gabriella GrahamโโEllaโ to her family and friendsโhas already made a name for herself as a successful portrait artist in London. She can capture the essential truth in each of her subjectsโ facesโa tilt of the chin, a glint in the eyeโand immortalize it on canvas. This gift has earned Ella commissions from royals and regular folks alike.
But closer to home, Ella finds the truth more elusive. Her father abandoned the family when she was five, and her mother has remained silent on the subject ever since. Ellaโs sister, Chloe, is engaged to Nate, an American working in London, but Ella suspects that he may not be so committed. Then, at Chloeโs behest, Ella agrees to paint Nateโs portrait.
From session to session, Ella begins to see Nate in a different light, which gives rise to conflicted feelings. In fact, through the various people she paintsโan elderly client reflecting on her life, another woman dreading the prospect of turning forty, a young cyclist (from a photograph) who met a tragic endโElla realizes that there is so much more to a personโs life than what is seen on the surface, a notion made even clearer when an unexpected email arrives from the other side of the world. And as her portraits of Nate and the others progress, they begin to reveal less about their subjects than the artist herself.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and in Isabel Wolffโs vibrant and textured story, these words are brilliantly crafted to convey the humor, mystery, and beauty that exists within each of us.
